EU Study Tour Overview
EU Study Tour and Internship Program
The EU Study Tour is a field school that offers a unique experiential learning opportunity for university students across Canada through a program of guided visits to the major institutions of the European Union and several other places.
About half the students on the Study Tour will complete an internship at an EU institution or civil society organizations following completion of the Tour.
The EU Study Tour and Internship Program is offered by the Canadian universities of the Network for European studies (Canada) and the University of Victoria, which has taken on the managing role since 2018.
The 2026 EU Study Tour will take place from May 17 - May 29, 2026. All students must then arrive in Brussels, Belgium on Sunday May 17 (welcome session in the late afternoon/early evening of that day). The last Tour day is Friday May 29 and students check out of their hotel in Brussels, Belgium in the morning of Saturday May 30, 2026 (if in the internship program, internships will start on Monday June 01, 2026 and will end on Wednesday August 05, 2026).
IMPORTANT note to UVic students and Non-network university students: You will be registered for a course at UVic (EUS 470). This course requires participation in the 3rd Pan-Canadian Model EU (May 12-13) and attendance of select panels at the ECSA-C Biennial Conference on Canada-Europe relations at UVic (May 14-16). Please see the UVic Applications tab for more information.
More about the EU Study Tour
The EU Study Tour always takes place in May and builds on over 20 years of successful tours. Students ought to know that it is considered to be an intensive program. Each year, the Tour has some recurring themes and special themes.
The recurring themes are the institutional architecture of the EU (e.g. enlargement and reform) and Canada-EU relations. The special theme for 2026 is European Security. This theme has many possible dimensions, including security threats from military conflict in the region, the dynamics of transatlantic relations, but may also include subthemes such as terrorism, cyber security, disinformation/post-truth, energy and supply chain dependence, and climate change and its effects (e.g. migration flows).
On the 2026 edition of the Tour, Students will travel to Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg, Leuven (Belgium), before finishing in Brussels. There may be additional side trips during the Tour (to be confirmed). Students will visit key EU institutions, such as:
- European Commission
- European Parliament
- Court of Justice of the EU
- European Central Bank
Visits also include other international organizations and representations (e.g. NATO and the Canadian Mission to the EU) and possibly also think tanks, civil society organizations, and universities. The goal is to offer a fully immersive program that allows students to learn about how the organizations and institutions define, manage, and shape the current events and challenges they face.
Recent iterations of the study tour:
2022 EUST Program - the study tour took place virtually and was followed by the usual in-person internships
How about the Internship Program?
Some participants now live and work in Europe as a result of the networks and experiences they built and gained through the internship program. EUSTIP internships are typically just over two months in duration and are only open to EU Study Tour students. While unpaid, these internships are quite a rare opportunity to gain valuable work experience in Europe, often in positions that are normally not available to non-European students!
Internships typically begin in the week following the completion of the study tour and are completed by the beginning of August. Occasionally the timing differs, depending on the flexibility of the employer (as well as the student). In 2026, internships will normally start on Monday, June 01 and will end on Wednesday, August 05. For more information, please click the link to get to the Internship Program tab.
Some stories and feedback of past students
Read some student testimonials here. Or read Anna’s story, who participated in 2017 or that of Alina, who went in 2019.
Video montage of the 12th EU study tour, held in May 2015.